The Keys to a Lockridge Heart by Abby Ayles

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved this series. Each story can stand on its own, but together they weave an intricate web.

Melting a Duke's Winter Heart
 Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I love the characters and the plot in this story. It's twisted and endearing at the same time. There's mistaken identity and scandal and an evil father with twin daughters that secretly defy him. This story melted my heart along with the Duke's.

 A Loving Duke For The Shy Duchess

 Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This story is what happens to the sister "Lucille" from the story "Melting a Duke's Winter Heart". It seem Lucille accepts an arrange marriage with Duke Crowan to get out of her father's house. She spends months avoiding her husband out of fear of his reputation. One night after a dinner gone wrong, neither of them can sleep. Reginald finds his wife in the library. She asks him what's wrong and he lays his head in her lap. She allows him this and it changes something in her. From there Reginald and her begin to build a friendship based on respect. What Reginald has unleashed is a veritable tiger. This story continues months after where Sarah's story ends, but we find that Lucille is actually more courageous than her sister, Sarah. Sometimes all a person really needs is the freedom to be themselves. 

  Freed by the Love of an Earl

 Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a very intense story. Although, Edmund has loved Margaret for as long as he can remember, with his estate in tatters, he never hoped to marry her anytime soon. Blackmail has risen its ugly head, and Margaret needs to marry and marry wealthy. Edmund offers marriage when he learns that Margaret need to marry quickly. Both fail to tell each other the issue with their finances, and things proceed to quickly go downhill. I found Margaret to be selfish and arrogant to believe that she could handle things herself. The blackmailer was asking for more than the worth of her father's estates. The story is very intense, and the plot is definitely intriguing. It seems to me that Margaret has no common sense and could have prevented Jerome Colbourne from escaping if she wasn't more worried about Edmund and the Ton finding out about her birth. Of course, we wouldn't have had the thrilling climax. In this case, the story is great with the same wonderful characters from the 1st 2 books, but I have a hard time abiding stupid women.